Xavi Tries To Convince Sergi Darder To Join Barcelona By Explaining Role In Team
On Monday evening, reports emerged claiming that Barcelona had cast admiring glances towards RCD Espanyol midfielder and captain Sergi Darder as a possible option to bolster their midfield this summer.
The 29-year-old Spaniard, who will be available for just €10 million this summer due to his release clause, has emerged as a target, potentially as an alternative for Ilkay Gundogan, should he decide to renew with Manchester City or join Arsenal.
Even if Gundogan arrives, Darder could remain on Barcelona’s agenda as a low-cost extra reinforcement in midfield, with Xavi keen on adding more creativity and goals in the middle of the park.
As such, it had been reported that Xavi had already spoken to the midfielder in order to win over his confidence while Mateu Alemany was in talks with the player’s representatives.
But, some reports had claimed that the Barcelona manager, in fact, had not held any talks with Darder.
Now, though, Sergi de Juan of SPORT is reporting that Xavi indeed spoke with Darder and has given an insight into the talks that went down between the pair as the Barcelona manager made attempts to convince the Espanyol man to switch allegiances to their rival club.
As per the report, Xavi called Darder and gave a detailed explanation of the role he could have in the Barça setup.
The manager informed the Espanyol captain that his arrival would allow him to rotate the likes of Pedri and Gavi freely to avoid injuries, given the number of games that Barcelona play each season.
As it is, Pedri spent a lengthy spell out on the sidelines due to an injury last season, during which the team struggled. And Xavi believes Darder’s arrival would help avoid such problems moving forward.
Furthermore, the Barcelona head coach also explained to the 29-year-old that having an experienced individual with a positive character like him in a relatively young team would add a lot of value for the rest of the group.
However, Darder continues to have doubts over the transfer as he is aware of risking upsetting the Espanyol fanbase by signing for their arch-rivals.
Meanwhile, Barcelona also continue prioritising the arrival of Gundogan. But if the German decides not to move to Catalonia, the La Liga champions could up the ante in pursuit of Darder.
